Sharing The Process...

I thought you might be interested to see my process for making my wee goldwork frogs, so I've put together a short video with each step represented in photos. Click HERE to watch. I hope you enjoy it!

My nieces have been busy making arrangements for their mum, and we now have a date. Her Celebration of Life will be December 2nd...the day before my Birthday. They actually asked if that would be a problem for me, and I told them not to give it another thought. Celebrating their mum on that date would be perfect, and I'm absolutely fine with it.

I would usually be in Portage today for our Craft Day - in fact, I was supposed to lead the project this month, but I didn't feel right going out of town while my nieces are still here. I am going out to lunch with my best friend, Lee, though. A "dose of Lee" is just what I need to cheer me up. We have a lot of catching up to do, so we may be there a while.

I'll have my latest project to share with you on Monday, but don't forget to stop in for your weekly scripture verse tomorrow. I hope you have a great weekend.

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Bedroom Set For Sale/Sold...

 

 

Less than twenty four hours after listing our Paul Bunyan bedroom set for sale on Marketplace, the new owners were in our drive and ready to load up their purchase. When I saw the van and short bed truck coming down the road, I was skeptical about whether or not the set would leave in one trip.

I'm pretty proud of the fact that I have the gift of being able to puzzle pieces together so they fit. I moved out of my first apartment in a remarkably packed VW Beetle. This would be a piece of cake.

I measured the length of the truck box, height of the armoire and length of the large chest of drawers. Yes. With the possible exception of the headboard, it was all going to fit.

 

 

Happily, the side chests, bedrails and footboard fit into the van with no room to spare. The wheel well held the footboard in place, so I knew it would travel well. This load was secure and stable, so nothing would be damaged on the hour long drive home.

 

In the end, the headboard fit snuggly between the armoire and chest of drawers. Multiple cargo straps later, the sun came out and the caravan headed out of the driveway and northward home.

 

The armoire was an afterthought, so I took photos and measurements and texted the buyer to see if they wanted that piece, too. When he said yes, I told him I'd charge him half of what I actually wanted for it because it was clean and empty, but still upstairs. He still wanted it, so I held my breath as I watched them carry it down our narrow and steep farmhouse stairs and straight out of the front door.

Like a good blogger, I took photographs. Like a good grandma, I directed this young man to text me once he was safely home. He was so cute. He'd come with his wife, mom and two other young (strong) people. They all helped lift drawers, cannonballs, and the heavier pieces. I helped with a few of the smaller pieces. 

 

About two hours later, my phone signaled a text message. Yes. He sent a photo of the bed set up in one of their bedrooms. The room where it will end up is currently being painted, but he actually said he'd send another photo once it's in the final installation.

I was happy. They were happy, and the first month of 2023 already has a major grouping decluttered from our environs. Talk about multitasking!

 

 

My longest and dearest friend is in Wisconsin from Georgia to attend the funeral of one of her mum's oldest friends. She called me and is coming today for a whirlwind cuppa tea and visit before turning back for home.

Tonight is our planning meeting for our 50th Class Reunion. As I'm the chairman, I'll have a little prep work to do before our dinner gathering. Not much will happen in the studio today, so I'll be busy tossing things that won't be moved this weekend in our "switcheroo fest". Sewing will have to wait until Friday.

Don't fret that I'm doing too much. I spend a lot of time sitting with my feet up to compensate for these short bursts of exertion. I know I'm still healing and am taking great care not to cause any new issues. I promise not to overdo it, but I know how blessed I am that you're concerned for me. Thank you for that.

BFFs...

Brynwood Needleworks - Lifelong BFFs

Our weekend wouldn't be complete without a couple more photos of us together. Cyd and her husband, Bill left yesterday, and we miss them already. Alas, we have 'home things' which call to us. I get it, but a month together wouldn't have been enough. Every second we could spend together was precious, and it was nice to make new memories together.

Brynwood Needleworks - Happy Foursome

 

Handsome and Bill had a good time catching up, too, and we've made plans to stay with them in Georgia on our next Wisconsin/Florida trip. We promise. 

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Banana Nut Bread

 

Bill loves all my farmhouse goodies, so I made my Banana Nut Bread (My Recipe Here) for them to munch on while they drove, and sent them home with a box of canned jams and fillings. I miss them already.

 

 

This week, I'll be busy in the studio, making new wallets and new items for my shop. The weather was absolutely perfect over the weekend, so I'm actually hoping we get a little rain so I won't feel bad working indoors. (Actually, I just checked the forecast and it's supposed to be beautiful through Tuesday. Guess I'll just have to suck it up...or wait until Wednesday to sew!)

 

Tag will be back tomorrow. He has a new friend he's looking forward to introducing to you. She's a real sweetheart. I'll see you again Wednesday!

Sunday Scripture...

Brynwood Needleworks - Hickory Hill Farm Delphiniums and John 3:16

   In memory of the mother of my best friend, Cyd, who passed to her great reward Mother's Day weekend.
Joyce Ely Ford   Rest well, His good and faithful servant.

Until Next Time...

Donna and Cyd

 

I was up as the sun came over the hillside to the east of the farmhouse. My oldest, dear friend, Cyd was coming for a lightning short visit before driving back around the lake to the airport to pick up her son (who was flying in from Mexico City, where he currently lives). He flew in to help her drive a U-Haul back to Georgia.

She arrived by 7:30 in the morning, and the visit that was planned for a few minutes turned into an hour. We fell right into old conversations as we always do in our comfortable friendship of 58 years of shared memories and stories.

I spent Friday and Saturday helping my friend with a difficult task, and I got a chance to see her brothers and one of her two sisters (all of whom I've known since they were little kids). We worked hard, but we laughed and caught up on each others lives, too. 

I wrote about my time with her over the weekend, and mentioned that we had so much fun that we completely forgot to take a picture together, as we usually do. That wasn't going to happen yesterday. Handsome caught a few images of us together, and they've become my new favorites of the two of us.

 

Donna and Cyd

After we took pictures up near the little barn/woodshed, we walked back to the house together. We reached for each others hands, as we've done thousands of times before since we were little, and we chatted and walked down the hill. Thank you, dear husband for capturing this picture of us. I love it.

Donna and Cyd

 

He stopped us so that we could turn around and smile one more time for the camera, and then we walked to her vehicle. We hugged, kissed and said "until next time" (we don't say "goodbye"). We'll see her and her husband over the winter. It's our turn to visit them at their place called "Flat Rock Farm".

 

Until next time, dear friend. Safe Travels.

Love always,

 

Helping A Dear Friend...

web image

  Have A Great Weekend!!!

Fulfilling Friday...

#shotoniphone6plus

 

When I first got up yesterday, the temperature outside was hovering around 59º. (Great sleeping weather!) I went out to check on the garden, and found this fuzzy bumblebee snoozing in one of my hollyhock blooms. There it remained until the sun came around to warm the garden, and then I imagine the bumblebee flew off to go about its daily chores.

I mowed the yard today, as Handsome has been under the weather this week. There are a lot of blossoms in the yard (clover, Queen Anne's Lace, chickory, bird's foot trefoil, and others) so I left our high yard (on the hill above the house) mostly unmowed. It was full of bees and butterflies, so I decided they can enjoy the flowers until the buds are spent.

We've also been short on rain for more weeks than the grass likes, so we've been holding off on mowing to help the grass. The wildflowers can thrive in drought conditions, but the grass needed a break from the weekly mowing. The yard looks much better now, and the colorful flowers are welcome, plus the colors provided by the butterflies they are feeding.

Orange Juice Applesauce From Our Farm

 

In the process of mowing the yard, I picked up all the windfall apples under our very old apple tree. Many of the apples had already been chewed on by bugs, but there were also a basket full of unblemished fruits.

I brought them into the house, cleaned them, cut them up, and tossed them in the slow cooker. I added a fruit preservative so they wouldn't brown, and let them cook for a couple of hours. When they were soft, I put everything through Handsome's mom's - now my - antique chinoise. 

After milling out the fruit, which separates the skin, seeds, etc., I heated the mixture, added a small amount of sugar and Ceylon cinnamon. In the end, the mixture yielded one quart and one pint of tasty applesauce.

Handsome and I finished the day by trying a new-to-us restaurant in our own town. From the first to last person working there, we were treated to friendly, Midwest hospitality and fine food. We'll definitely return. On our way out, we ran into old friends who go there every Friday! I'm sure we'll see them again, too.

Today, my BFF, Lee and I are going to the farmer's market in West Bend, WI to see what they're offering this week. I'm looking for more garlic scapes and raspberries (for jam). I'm looking forward to our outing!

I'm going to be stitching on my silk butterfly, too. Now that I'm silk thread instead of cotton floss, it's going slower (one strand, as opposed to two when I was working on the practice piece). I'm not in a hurry, but I would like to move right along on this. I'm looking forward to seeing it completed. (Patience, Donna. Patience. sigh)

 

Season Of Joy...

Brynwood Needleworks - Season of Joy

 

My BFF, Lee and I managed to get together before Handsome, the pups and I left Wisconsin. It was so nice to see her again. You know how it is with dear friends. You don't see each other for long stretches of time, but the instant you're together again, it's like you never missed a beat. That's how it is with us.

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Season of Joy

I gave her the 25¢ tour (Remember, it's not 50¢ until the remodeling is done), and explained what our plans are for the farm. Then we settled in to talk and catch up. 

 

We exchanged gifts, too. I gave her one of the Grab and Go Clutches I made, and she showed me it will fit perfectly in her handbag. Now I know which style handbag I want to make for her, too. I also gave her a little of my private stash of hickory nuts. I know she'll mix them into a batch of cookies.

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Season of Joy

Then she gave me this tea set! It consists of a tea cup and saucer, a lid with a sweet bird perched on top, and a tea strainer for brewing loose tea. She added two English teas and a box of my favorite PG Tips English tea bags. 

She knows me well. I'm looking forward to Spring when we'll be able to share time, talk and a lovely cuppa tea together. It will be like we never missed a beat.

The Joys Of A Lifelong Friendship...

"Senior Selfie". The Quartermans and the Liljegrens. Happy.

 I'm calling this our "senior selfie".

My oldest friend, Cyd and her husband, Bill decided at the last minute to make a long weekend trip to Florida. They started with friends north of us in Pinellas County and got to our home on Saturday. They stayed with us overnight before moving to their next destination.

Quartermans and Liljegrens

It was a short visit, but we made the most of it. We shared a meal; stayed up late; caught up on each others' lives and remembered treasured, shared memories. Best of all, we promised to do it again very, very soon.

Donna Liljegren and Cyd Quarterman

This is what a fifty four year old friendship looks like.  

When we're together, it always feels like home. Cyd is one of the few people in this entire world who makes me feel this way. We've shared our lives since we were six years old. We can be apart for ages, but when we come together, it's as though only minutes have passed and we slip back into our comfortable roles as the best of friends.

Equally joyful is that our husbands enjoy spending time together, so we can chat as a group or have separate conversations with ease. We've promised to get together between here and Georgia more often. Next time, we'll likely go to their home. Until then, we have these newest memories to remind us of how blessed we are to have each other.

Feels Like Home...

 It was after midnight when I got home last night...too late to edit a 

pile of photographs from an evening spent with old school friends.

A small group of us gathered at a local restaurant to kick off a weekend commemorating the 40th year since we graduated from high school together. I saw many old friends and we talked about shared memories, but none like the memories I share with this one woman.

Cyd and I have been friends since we first laid eyes on each other in first grade. That was fifty two years ago. We both had long braids and when she walked into our classroom as a new student, we immediately hit it off. We became friends in that instant, and we've been fast friends ever since. 

If you're lucky enough to have one friend in your life like this, then you're lucky enough, indeed. The kind of friend who knows your own childhood as well as you do. The kind of friend who's shared the best and worst of times with you. The kind of friend who you can be away from for years, and never doubt that you're still BFFs...slipping back into conversation like a comfortable, well-loved, favorite sweater. You just know that you'll be friends until you die.

I'll be spending the day with her today, and then we're going to spend the night together at a bed & breakfast right in the middle of our old neighborhood. She lived on Olcott Street, and I on Division Street. The B & B is on the corner of Olcott and Division. We'll go to the reunion and when they kick us out, we'll sit up all night catching up on years of old stories.

I love this woman. When I'm with her, I'm a kid again. We're safe and steadfast. Being with her is easy. When I'm with her, it feels like home.

Resting In Jackson Center...

 What day is it? Oh, yeah...It's HUMP DAY! (lol)

Monday was mostly spent looking out my passenger window at the view,

and our Flying Cloud in my rear view mirror. We were stuck in traffic an

inordinate amount of time. Cincinnati to Dayton, OH was the worst, so by the

time we reached Jackson Center (the Airstream Factory) we were whipped.

 We shared travel stories with other Airstreamers today, bought a few items in

the gift shop and rested while we had a few things done to our Flying Cloud.

 We'll finish up the last of our list today, but we are enjoying our 

camping location in the TerraPort with each other, Tag and Ceri.

 The dogs are fabulous travelers. Tag is an ol' pro, and Ceri is taking pointers from

 him. She's great at hopping into her safe spot (her kennel) in the back seat of our

truck. After she's crated, Tag jumps in next to her on his great padded bed. They

have lots of room to snooze while we drive, but they prefer nights in our camper.

(We won't mention the time Handsome took Tag outside to air him out and 

returned to find Ceri innocently standing smack in the middle of our dinette table.)

Today, we'll have just a few more things done by the Airstream techs and then

we'll motor to Champagne, IL where we'll rest for the night. By Thursday, we'll

be back in our old stomping grounds for the next couple of weeks. We can't wait!

I've been on the phone with my grade school BFF, Cyd and we're looking forward

to seeing each other for an overnight visit - and our 40th class reunion. A great 

beginning to our time in Wisconsin...with many more new memories to make.

I think I'll work on a little needlework during the day today. 

I'll show you what I accomplish tomorrow. 

Oh, and we're really loving central Ohio's weather, too. 

We couldn't have asked for anything better.

Sunday Scripture...

" ...Hold tightly to what is good. 

Love each other with genuine affection, 

and take delight in honoring each other."

- Romans 12: 9-10

For my best friend, Lee, who is missing her sweet Emma.

My Best Friend...

Wednesday night, I flew to Wisconsin and my best friend, Lee picked me up at the airport. We had dinner together and then went to her home, where I spent the night. We sat up and talked until after two o'clock in the morning, and it was nearly three by the time I finally fell asleep. (Well, it was actually more like I just passed out from exhaustion!)

When we both got up this morning, we shared breakfast and talked over coffee, and later, we shared lunch together. By late afternoon, she and I finally got back in the car and drove to my mum's house. Mum had been anxiously awaiting our arrival and we were all glad to see each other again.

Rather than just drop me off, Lee sat down and visited with my mum. The reason I'm at Mum's this week is to help her clear, destash and stage her home to put on the market to sell. Once it's sold, she's going to move down to Florida so she can live near Handsome and me. Lee knew that moving furniture was on my agenda, so she immediately pulled up her sleeves and said, "I'll help. Let's get this furniture moved."

We unhooked the wiring for Mum's television and Lee marked the cables so we'd know where everything went for the "replugging". We moved furniture, big and small and then revamped the window treatments...all the while calming down Mum and assuring her that this "look" will help sell her home faster. We know that the whole experience is more than a little traumatic for Mum, but Lee helped me bolster her so that she could feel more comfortable with what was going on. Afterwards, the three of us had dinner and then Lee left to go home, care for their dogs and get some rest before going back to work tomorrow.

If you're very fortunate, you too have a girlfriend like mine. You may not speak with each other regularly, but you can rest assured that if you're thinking about her, she's thinking about you. You know that she's missing you just as much as you're missing her. And, you know when you see her, it will be like no time has passed at all since your last visit...even if it's been months or years. Today she shared my burden and made it lighter for us all the way around. Thanks, BFF.

The photograph of the two of us was taken when Lee was at our home in Florida. Instead of standing outside in the warm, Florida sunshine, today was windy, wet and cold in Wisconsin. When you're with your best friend, it's easy to find your own sunshine. So, in spite of the weather, today was just perfect!